Turkey: Buying Property In Turkey Guide For Foreign Individuals

1. Legal Basis:

In accordance with the Article 35 of the Land Registry Law No.
2644, amended by Law No. 6302, which entered into force on 18 May
2012, the condition of reciprocity for foreigners
who wish to buy property in Turkey was abolished.

Persons with foreign nationality can buy any kind of property
(house, business place, land, field) subject to the legal
restrictions.

2. Format of the Contract:

According to the Turkish laws and regulations in force, transfer
of ownership of a property is only possible with an
official deed and registry signed at the Land Registry
Directorates.

Although the legal ownership to the property does not
pass with an agreement of any kind unless an official deed
is issued on the name of the buyer at the Land Registry; signing an
agreement for the sale of the property such as "sales
commitment agreement" with the seller seller to transfer the
ownership at the Land Registry.

3. Legal Restrictions for Foreigners in Buying Property:

There are however certain restrictions for buying properties in
Turkey if the buyer is a foreigner, including the following:

a) Persons with foreign nationality can buy maximum 30 hectares
of property in Turkey in total.

b) Persons with foreign nationality can acquire property or
limited in rem right in a district/town up to 10 % of the total
area of the said district/town.

c) No purchasing or renting of properties to foreigners within
military forbidden zones and security zones are allowed.

d) The properties are subject to winding up provisions in the
following cases: (i) if the properties are acquired in violation of
laws; ii) if the relevant Ministries and administrations identify
that the properties are used in violation of purpose of purchase;
iii) if the foreigner does not apply to the relevant Ministry
within time in case the property is acquired with a project
commitment; iv) if the projects are not materialized within
time.

These restrictions above do not apply in establishing a
lien on a property within Turkish borders in favor of a
real person foreigners and commercial companies legally established
in foreign countries.

4. Application and Procedure:

Buyer should be from the country whose citizens can acquire
property or limited in rem right in Turkey and meet the
necessary conditions.

Application:

The owner of the property or his/her authorized representative
should make a preliminary application to the Land Registry
Directorate (Preliminary applications are made before noon by
taking sequence number). No application will be proceeded without
preliminary application.

Necessary Documents:

a) Title deed of the property or information on
village/district, block, building plot, detachment.

b) Identification document or passport (Together with its
translation).

c) "Property Value Statement
Document" to be provided from the relevant
municipality.

g) (If the power of attorney is prepared abroad) The original or
certified copy of the power of attorney and its approved
translation.

Powers of attorney:

a) Powers of attorney are issued by the Turkish Embassies or
Consulates.

b) If the power of attorney which is issued by a notary of a
foreign country is certified according to The Hague Convention
dated 5 October 1961 and if it bears "Apostille (Convention de
La Haye du Octobre 1961)" in French, there is no need for an
additional certification of the said power of attorney by the
relevant Turkish Consulate.

c) If the power of attorney is issued by a notary of a foreign
country which is not party to The Hague Convention dated 5 October
1961, the signature of the said notary has to be certified by the
relevant authority of the foreign country and then the signature
and seal of the said foreign authority have to be certified by the
Turkish Consulate in that country.

Financial Aspects of the Procedure:

a) Both seller and buyer have to pay the tittle deed fee,
calculated according to the selling price which cannot be less than
the "Property Statement Value" to be issued by the
relevant municipality. (According to the Charges Law No: 492, the
title deed fee percentage for 2013 is % 2.)

b) Circulating capital fee which is determined locally has to be
paid. (Maximum 70x2.5 TL for 2013.)

c) Usually a holding deposit will be required, which varies
according to the area and the negotiation between the parties.

5. Some other points to be considered before purchasing a
property:

a) Check if the seller has the right to sell the property;

b) Check the Book of the Land Registry if there is any
limitation on the property, such as lien, any kind of securities or
encumbrances established in favor of third parties which prevents
the sale of the property;

c) Holding a residence permit is not required for buying a
property in Turkey. Likewise, buying a property does not grant a
residence permit in Turkey.

d) Avoid working with persons/companies who/which are not expert
or reliable.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.

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The recent decision in Interserve Construction Ltd v Hitachi Zosen Inova AG, has confirmed the importance of understanding and complying with the contractual process when it comes to terminating a construction contract.

In February 2017, in Carillion Construction Ltd v Emcor Engineering Services Ltd,1 the Court of Appeal had the opportunity to consider a novel issue in relation to extensions of time: how extensions of time after the date for completion are applied.

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